Alcon's STAAR acquisition clears antitrust review milestone

Alcon (SIX/NYSE: ALC) and STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA) announced that the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period for Alcon's acquisition of STAAR expired on September 29, 2025.

Under the agreement terms, Alcon will purchase all outstanding STAAR shares for $28 per share in cash, representing approximately $1.5 billion in total equity value. The price reflects a 59% premium to STAAR's 90-day volume weighted average price and a 51% premium to the closing price on August 4, 2025.

The companies continue to expect the transaction will close within six to 12 months of the initial August 5, 2025 merger agreement announcement, subject to regulatory approval and STAAR stockholder approval.

STAAR will hold a virtual Special Meeting of Stockholders on October 23 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time to vote on the merger proposal. Stockholders of record as of September 12, 2025 are entitled to vote. The STAAR Board of Directors unanimously recommends stockholders vote for the merger proposal.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC serves as financial advisor to Alcon, with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP as legal advisor. Citi serves as exclusive financial advisor to STAAR, with Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as legal advisor.

Alcon is an eye care company that offers surgical and vision care products across more than 140 countries. STAAR Surgical manufactures the Implantable Collamer Lens and specializes in implantable phakic intraocular lenses for vision correction.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Kevin Knight retires from Knight-Swift Transportation
• ICZOOM Group appoints Yi Wang as director, names him audit chair
• QXO and TopBuild set June 29 deadline for stockholder election